Interviews are hard. There are few things more nerve-wracking than answering the questions of someone who will decide if your services are worth the money of their company. This is true even if the placement is supposed to be temporary. After all, this temporary placement could become permanent or be parlayed into your dream position.
So, the pressure is on at these interviews. With that much pressure, interviewee’s can wind up focusing on their answers to the exclusion of all else. This is not a good idea because your interviewer isn’t just listening to your responses; they are looking for you to ask questions. These questions should indicate not only that you are interested in working for them specifically, but that you will fit in their company. Yes, this adds a layer of pressure to your already stressful interview, but, as the people at Boutique Recruiting will tell you, it is worth it. Fortunately, you don’t have to make up your questions from scratch. You can riff on the following 4 questions:
1. What Kind Of Software Do You Use For Your Accounting Projects?
This gives you a chance to tell them that you are familiar with the programs that they use. If you are not familiar with the programs, you can show how eager you are to take up this position by talking about learning the programs mentioned. Either way, you have a heads-up about what sort of software you will be working with for most of your day. It gives you a chance to practice on online samples as well so that you can hit the ground running.
2. What Is A Typical Day Like?
This is a good question for any job position. It gives you the chance to assess whether you will have an easy time fitting in the company culture, and it warns you about how most of your time will be spent. This is a deeper question than it looks, too: you can discern the real priorities of a company from the daily operations. Do they spend a lot of time auditing? They clearly consider catching mistakes important. Do they spend most of their time tracking inventory? That’s a different priority. Knowing where their priorities lie can tell you whether this is a good company for your career, and, remember, you have a right to know that even in a temporary position.
3. When Do You Start Working On Your Taxes?
Tracking what you owe the government is a big part of many accounting jobs. It will take up a considerable amount of your time, and may, in fact, be why the temporary position is open. Lots of companies require extra help to prepare tax returns and computing how much they owe. If the company you are interviewing for is asking you to do their taxes, you will want to know the details of how they deal with that. Do they have a scheduled day every 4 months to do the quarterly taxes? Will you be filing the sales taxes online? Granted, not every accounting job deals with taxes, but if it is mentioned on the job description, you would be wise to find out how the company deals with them. This is also likely to be the big accounting ‘project’ in your department, so it makes you look interested in the specifics of the company.
4. What Is It Like To Work With (The Client That Hires Them)?
If you are interviewing at an accounting firm, it is smart to research the sort of companies that they typically work with. Perhaps this accounting firm specializes in a particular type of clientele, and you might ask how working with that type of client is unique. After all, the tax needs of restaurants are going to be different from the tax needs of electronic stores. Knowing what the needs of the clients will be before you hire on will help you prepare for the job because you will be able to look up the rules and reporting standards that you will need. From the interviewer’s point of view, you are showing an understanding of their industry and that you are interested in their particular company. That is always a plus.
Being interviewed can be daunting. Let these 4 questions help you prepare for it. If you are looking for a little more help with getting a good accounting placement, contact us at Boutique Staffing. We can help polish your CV and find you even more interviews to ace.
